A Romantic Picnic For One
by Akkun K
Summary: After a mission, Garnet heads out on her own as Steven and Connie follow her to find out what's up.
1. Chapter 1

"You've got this, guys! Just keep going at it!" Steven was standing off to the side with a megaphone, cheering on the Crystal Gems as they fought a giant monster on the beach in front of the temple. "Steven, we've been at this for two hours and this monster has shown no signs of slowing down!" said Pearl as she fired beams of light from her spear at the monster, which didn't even make it flinch. Garnet had climbed onto the monster and was punching it with her gauntlets repeatedly while Amethyst did her Spin Dash attack, not even bothering with her weapon. The monster threw the attacking Gems off of it with ease, leaving them in a dogpile on the ground. "Ugh, this is so dumb!" said Amethyst with a huff, "Nothing that we do is working!" "Don't give up yet!" said Steven, "There's gotta be something that can stop it!" "Well," said Garnet, lifting herself up, "there is this move that I have been developing for a while. Now seems like the perfect time to use it. Steven, get the other Gems to safety! I'll handle this."

Steven ran over to Amethyst & Pearl and put up his bubble shield around them while Garnet stepped in front, with her gauntlets aimed towards the monster. The gauntlets launched from her hands and orbited around each other, getting closer and closer until they merged to form one giant fist. The monster exploded into a giant cloud of smoke as soon as the giant fist made impact, leaving behind its gemstone falling to the ground. Garnet ran over and made a sliding dive across the sand just in time for it to land in her hand. "Batter out," quipped Garnet with a smirk. Steven just stood just awestruck with stars in his eyes. "That. Was. AWESOME!" "I know," replied Garnet, as she bubbled the gemstone, "Now let's get back home."

As they walked back towards the temple, Steven asked, "Hey Garnet, now that the mission's over, wanna play some video games with me?" "I wish I could, Steven," said Garnet said while patting Steven's head, "but I have plans for tonight. Maybe tomorrow, alright?" "Aw, okay," said Steven, crestfallen. This always happened on this day of the year every year; Garnet always had plans and Steven was curious as to what she was up to. And he knew just the person to help him figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm glad your parents are okay with you staying the night here," said Steven to his best friend. They were sitting on Steven's bed playing their favorite JRPG, Blaze Crest: Activation, on their handheld gaming devices. "Me too," replied Connie, "They really seem to be warming up to the idea of us hanging out more often. Oh, oh! Pair Rickey up with Livvie!" "Got it," said Steven as he followed Connie's advice. "Woo! Critical hit! Reclassing Rickey into a Sage was a great idea!"

"So, what was up with the phone call you sent earlier? Is something wrong?" inquired Connie. "The thing is, I reason I invited you over is because I need you to help me with an investigation." "An investigation? Of what kind?" "Well, Garnet always has plans alone on this very day every year, but I never knew what she does, and I don't think the other Crystal Gems know either." "Hmmm," said Connie, "how very mysterious. So why did you call me for help and not the other Gems?" "Amethyst would be too noisy and Pearl would scold me for snooping around. You, however, have the strategic skills and willingness to help me out. After all, you DID suggest Rickey to be reclassed." Connie giggled. "I guess reading the entirety of 'The Art of War' wasn't for nothing after all." A beam of light came from the Warp Pad. "Here comes Garnet!" whispered Steven, "Quick, act natural!"

"Garnet walked into the kitchen and looked through the fridge. She pulled out some bagels, cream cheese, and salmon and began assembling a sandwich. She paused for a bit. "Should I make another one?" thought Garnet, "Not that it will matter, it'll end up in the same stomach either way." After mulling it over for a while, she made another, just in case. Garnet put the sandwiches in the basket and looked in the decor cabinet, pulling out a candle holder and some candles; one red, one blue, and one purple. She placed them into the basket and headed towards the door. She paused one last time, shifted her visor a bit, then walked out.

"Is the coast clear?" "Yup! Now Operation Find-Out-What-The-Heck-Garnet's-Up-To is underway! Onward!"


	3. Chapter 3

Garnet trudged up the steep hill with picnic basket in tow, taking care as to not misstep, then settled at the very top. She spread out the blanket, then sat down and took out the candelabra. With a snap of her fingers, the tips created a small flame, which she used to light the candles. Carefully setting it aside so as to not cause a wildfire, she looked down at her hands and smiled. "Happy anniversary, Ruby and Sapphire," she whispered to the gemstones that she bore on her palms. Garnet laid back on the blanket with her hands tucked behind her head and looked up at the night sky, the moon and stars reflecting off her visor.

She reflected on how Ruby and Sapphire met back on the Homeworld all those millennia ago, and how slowly, but surely, they fell deeply in love. Garnet then replayed the memory of the first time she was fused. She had felt confused and a wee bit wobbly on her feet, but ultimately, it just felt...right. Like it had always been meant to be this way. Many major changes had occured over the thousands of years since that day: the defection against the Homeworld; the long struggle at the Strawberry Battlefield, in which the Crystal Gems lost many of their comrades; and the death of Rose Quartz (and Steven's birth immediately after). But through all the trials and tribulations, Garnet had stayed strong and resilient, even when she wasn't physically there.

Meanwhile, a certain pair of youngsters were crawling up the hill, attempting to avoid detection. "Stealth, stealth, stealth, steeeeaaalllllthhhh." "Steven, whispering 'stealth' over and over isn't going to make you more stealthy. In fact, it would be quite the opposite!" Sorry, sorry, sometimes I just get carried away." "It's alright, but now that I think about it, you never really see two people on a stealth mission like this." "Hey, you're right...wait a minute! I have an idea!" Connie gave a nod of understanding, knowing precisely what Steven was thinking.

Grabbing each others hands, they started spinning around in a circle until they fused. What they forgot, seeing as how it had been a while since Stevonnie came onto the scene, is that fusion emits a bright light that could be seen as far as Homeworld. Stevonnie could only mutter this exclamation once that revelation had finally hit them...

"Oh crud."


	4. Chapter 4

Stevonnie started panicking. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, the mission is compromised! What do I do, what do I-" "Stevonnie." Garnet patted the space next to her on the blanket, not even turning around, as if she were inviting them to sit. Stevonnie paused their hysterics, then hesitantly sat next to her. There was a bit of a silence between the two Fusions, until the younger fusion spoke up. "Um, I'm sorry, Garnet. A-are you mad at me?" Garnet shook her head. "Not at all. You had every right to be curious about this. " Stevonnie gave a sigh of relief.

Besides, you DO realize I have future vision right? I knew you would pull this stunt from the beginning." Stevonnie's pupils dilated a bit, as they had completely forgotten about that. Garnet chuckled a bit, then pulled something out of the picnic basket. "That's why I packed an extra sandwich for you." Stevonnie gave a big grin, starry eyes and all. "My favorite! Thanks, Garnet! Itadakimasu!"

After finishing off the sandwich, Stevonnie looked over at Garnet. "Hey, do you think you could see Homeworld from here?" Garnet took a look at the night sky, which was sparkling immensely with stars. "There," she said, pointing to it. From that hilltop on Earth, Homeworld looked like a diamond in the sky, changing in color from white, to yellow, to blue, to pink. "Wooow, it's so beautiful! What was it like there?" "It was...something," replied Garnet. "What do you mean?" "You see, Homeworld never really thought too highly of fusion as anything more than a military tactic. But for us-ME, it meant so much more. That's why I couldn't stay there on such an oppressive world. That's why when Rose gave me the opportunity to accompany her and Pearl to Earth, I jumped on it." Garnet cupped Stevonnie's face with her hands. "And that's why I'm so happy that you found each other on this planet, a planet that accepts you with open arms and no persecution. And such a perfect fusion, to boot. Can't believe I'm saying this, but you even exceed me in terms of flawlessness. I'm so proud of you, Stevonnie."

All three of Garnet's eyes began to well up with tears of happiness, pulling in Stevonnie for a hug. After embracing for a few minutes, Stevonnie broke the silence. "Hey, do you think you can tell me some more stories about the stars?" Garnet smiled. "I'd be happy to."


	5. Epilogue

After a few hours of stories about the stars, Garnet noticed that Stevonnie had gone quiet. Garnet turned a bit and realized that the younger fusion had fallen asleep. "Guess that's enough stories for one night," thought Garnet. She gathered up her things into the picnic basket, extinguished the candles with a wave of her hand, and lifted up Stevonnie onto her back. She made a giant leap to the Temple, being cautious so as to not jostle the precious cargo she was carrying.

Garnet walked up the stairs to the beach house and opened the front door. Walking over to Steven's bed, she tucked Stevonnie in and gave them a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Stevonnie. See you in the morning."

She walked up to the Temple door and held up her gemstones to the scanner. Garnet had to get preparations done for a surprise for Steven. His birthday was mere months away and he wanted the Blaze Crest: Destinies Special Edition Deluxe Pack. She knew that she had to pre-order it or else they'd run out. After all, when it comes to surprises, strategy is key.

THE END

A/N: And that's a wrap! Thank you guys SO much for following this story~

This story was originally posted on my Wattpad account where it received pretty okay fanfare, but the reads I've been getting here are twice that amount! I'm finally popular! Yahoo!

Speaking of my Wattpad, go check it out to see the stuff I'm not allowed to post here, like my Fire Emblem Fates female reader insert series! My name on the is OfficialAkaneKitsune.

Stay tuned for future projects~

Love, Akkun~


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